Early adoption is growing at UMBC as more than 100 faculty opted to use the new Ultra Course View during the SP2019 semester. An additional 25 faculty tried Ultra using the sandbox shells created for exploring the new course interface.

DoIT believes faculty are important partners and will play an essential role during the Ultra migration. The new Blackboard course interface is significantly different from the Original course we’ve had for the last fifteen years, marking a notable change for UMBC faculty. All faculty will need time and support to prepare their courses for the proposed migration timeline.

Since recommendations and feedback from peer leaders can be helpful during change, 15 faculty have agreed to be Ultra Faculty Ambassadors:

On Friday, March 1, 2019, DoIT's Instructional Technology Team will hold its 4th annual TechFest.  TechFest traditionally brings the campus community together to share and demonstrate ways technology can both support and improve the efficiency of day-to-day activities including academics. This year, participants are in for a double treat as Instructional Technology partners with the Faculty Development Center to bring you day celebrating technology, teaching and learning!  

There will be raffles with prizes and giveaways like Amazon products for those who attend and participate.

Students, faculty, and staff are all welcome and encouraged to attend.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER TO ATTEND!

NEW THIS YEAR!

Come with a team and follow the clues to conquer the Escape Room in UC-310!  Teams should be comprised of 4-6 members. To sign up a team in advance (only the team leader needs to sign up), click here.

Come interact with teaching and learning tools in the Technology Test Kitchen (TTK) in UC-312!  The TTK will feature accessibility-enhancing tools including the Ally course accessibility checker, Blackboard Ultra, Panopto’s video platform, PollEverywhere, Open Education Resources (OER), Duo Two Factor Authentication, and password management, and much more!

Start your day by enjoying our light breakfast and the TechFest morning sessions. Immediately following the morning sessions TechFest, the Faculty Development Center (FDC) hold their Symposium sponsored by the Provost's office, which will include a poster session and luncheon with keynote address by renowned speaker Randy Bass. TechFest will conclude the day with a final session following the keynote address.

TechFest Schedule:

9:00 - 9:50: Breakfast and Registration (University Center Ballroom Lounge)

10:00 - 10:45: Session A

10:55 - 11:40: Session B

11:45 - 2:10: Provost’s Symposium (UC Ballroom)

2:15 - 3:00:  Session C

TechFest Sessions A-C will take place in the Engineering Building in rooms ENG-102, ENG-023, and ENG-025; click here to review the session abstracts.  Some of the session topics include implementing digital badging programs to recognize competencies and skills, using data analytics to demonstrate student success, leveraging campus technology for student success and taking class attendance in Blackboard using Qwickly.

The Escape Room will be open in UC-310 from 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.; the Technology Test Kitchen will be open in UC-312 from 10:00 a.m. - 11:40 a.m. and again from 2:15 - 3:00 p.m.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER TO ATTEND!

Please Note: UMBC is committed to creating an accessible and inclusive environment for all faculty, staff, students, and visitors.  If you would like to request accommodations (e.g., ASL interpreters, captioning, wheelchair access, etc.) for this event due to a disability, please notify us at least two weeks prior to the event. Requests received after that time cannot be guaranteed, but we will do our best to make arrangements for program access. Please contact the event host (email goes here) with your specific request and be sure to include the event title, date, and time.  

For questions and more information, please contact us at techfest19@umbc.edu.

The Division of Information Technology (DoIT) is pleased to announce that Dustin Roddy has been named manager of its New Media Studio (NMS). A 2014 graduate of the Media & Communications Studies (MCS) & American Studies programs, Roddy brings a rare combination of technical expertise as a video producer as well as excellent people and customer service skills.

In addition to daily responsibilities managing the Studio, Dustin played a key role in the successful partnership between DoIT, Athletics and Media Communication Studies to lead UMBC's live streaming of men's and women's basketball on ESPN3 that was featured in UMBC Magazine. He also worked with VPC Communications, owned by '86 Alum Eli Eisenberg, to oversee the Studio's upgrade to high definition (HD) broadcast quality production facilities, which supports numerous MCS student interns hired by Athletics to air 30+ ESPN3 broadcasts each year.

Dustin’s good working relationships were invaluable during and after UMBC's historic upset of #1 seed UVA in the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. Late that evening and all during the next two days, as the spotlight shone brightly on UMBC, Dustin helped educate the CBS "futures" producer who was only assigned the next day. She literally knew nothing about UMBC, so Dustin was feeding her information, web links and video archive footage with little more than a moment's notice. Eventually, Dustin’s in-game and behind-the-scenes footage was also on display in the CBS Sports retrospective, “Four Sides of the Story,” that aired this past fall.  

It’s no secret that teaching and learning has been expanded to include technology beyond a slide show presentation.  As a matter of fact, today’s students expect it! But do you know what technologies are available to you as an instructor at UMBC?  Although there are many tools you can easily access to enhance both engagement and the learning outcomes of your students, below are some of the tech tools we support that you may want to add to your teaching tool box.

Register for TechFest 2019 on Friday, March 1st where you'll have the opportunity to try out the tools below:

Blackboard Ultra.  Did you know that UMBC is planning to transition from Blackboard Learn to Blackboard Ultra (Bb UX)?  Bb UX is a new Learning Management System with simplified features that make your course mobile-friendly and accessible to students.  All instructors now have access to a Bb UX Course Preview when they log into Blackboard, so you can see what your current Blackboard Learn course looks like in the new system.  Not using Blackboard yet? Use your sandbox to play around and create assignments and assessments, embed videos, deploy classroom discussions and schedule online class meetings!  View the Blackboard Ultra FAQs, sign up for online Blackboard Office Hours, or attend one of DoIT’s Instructional Technology Team workshops to learn how to start using Bb UX!

Qwickly Attendance.  Need an efficient way to take attendance in those 200+ student classes?  Qwickly Attendance to the rescue! When using this tool with Blackboard, you can require students to check-in through a live session you create, send emails to absent students, and allow students to see their attendance records.  Get started with Qwickly to make your attendance tasks easier!

Panopto.  Has anyone ever asked if your lectures were recorded and available for review?  Well you can make these available to your students using Panopto and do it right in Blackboard!  Panopto now replaces TechSmith Relay and provides the capability to perform screen casting with voice, incorporate interactive quizzes right inside the video, and import results into your Blackboard grade book.  This tool is also great for creating or identifying and adding supplemental lecture material for students to view outside of class. Don’t know where to start? View the recent Panopto webinar for a tool introduction or see the Panopto FAQs for help.

VoiceThread.  Incorporate a host of online interactive strategies using this multimedia tool to get your students engaged!  VoiceThread provides the ability for instructors and students to navigate a slide deck and provide responses via text, voice, audio file, or webcam.  This tool is a great way to share comments with visual aids, conduct oral assessments, facilitate debates, or critique a document and do it all online!   Start spicing up the online teaching and learning experience using the VoiceThread FAQs to find out how!

Respondus Lockdown Browser.  Relief for your worries about academic integrity violations during assessments is available through the Respondus Lockdown Browser tool!  When enabled, this tool proctors student exams taken through Blackboard’s Test tool. Students won’t be able to navigate other websites or applications during an assessment that has been deployed, and all questions must be answered in order to exit the exam.  See the Respondus Lockdown Browser FAQs for more information on how to enable this helpful tool.